Human Resource Management and Labor Unions 1.

What are the pros and cons of labor unions to the a. Employees. Labor unions can be seen as being beneficial to the employee because it advocates for their welfare. This is in the form of working conditions, amount of salary and benefits they receive and working hours. Labor union, having a stronger voice, plays a leading role in organizing employee strikes that advocate for bettering employees. Since the introduction of labor unions, the normal working conditions for an average employee has changed, working hours reduced, leave period increased and the income slightly increased. Despite the above advantages, labor unions have been criticized because of a number of reasons. The labor unions restrict the members actions, for example, a member is not allowed to seek other options in solving his/work related grievances. The member can also not join other profession because doing so will require him/her to resign his membership to the union. The unions also require members to pay monthly subscriptions that have proved to be another expense to the employee. b. Employer. Most employers do not like labor Unions. This is because the unions rush to the extreme ends of leading workers to strike before trying out other avenues in conflict resolution. This strike ends up costing the employer a fortune. The labor organizations sometimes make the not so wealthy employers to pay high salaries to employees leading employer into financial problems. Despite the above, some employers use the labor unions to convince workers on certain matters which employees cannot agree

individually. The labor union also regulates the behavior of its members thus reducing issues of employee indiscipline on and off work. 2. What is the process to form a union? Once it is formed, what does a union do next? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), gives each employer a right to join a labor union. To form a labor union, first of all, you should have willing employees that should represent at least 30% of all complainants. To confirm their willingness, A cards should be filled. An election petition is then filed with the NLRB that will confirm the names of employees with the company and make sure they satisfy the required 30%. The NLRB also makes sure no supervisors and managers are included and once certified, an election date is set in the next 5 to 7 weeks. The NLRB manages the election and the union becomes official once it wins the majority vote. Once the union is formed, it has the backing of law to bargain with the employer in good faith till the conclusion of a collective bargaining agreement. 3. Have unions outlived their usefulness? Why or why not? I think labor unions are no longer relevant both the employee and employer. This is because, currently, relevant procedures have been put in place to ensure minimal conflict between the employer and the employee. Conflicts between the employer and worker on issues like salary and working conditions were the main reasons behind the start of these unions. Now that most employees are happy, it is time to park and leave for labor unions. 4. What to do to improve the relationship between management and Human resource. Strategies that can be put in place a smooth co-existence between the labor union and management are available. First of all, a clear procedure for grievance presentation

should be documented. The laid down grievance process if followed by workers, will give management a chance to cool off some matter before they reach the labor union. This render the labor union useless. Ensuring good general employee welfare is another strategy. This makes employees feel valued, motivating them and giving them no reason to bring the labor union. Agreements with the labor union can also be forged aiming at smoothing the relationship. 5. Is this article a fair evaluation of the state of HR in contemporary organizations? Yes. The article is fair evaluation of the state of Human resource management because of a number of reasons. It is true that HR does not contribute much in formulating strategies to develop the company instead just getting focused on filling vacancies. The HR also focuses too much on formalizing matters of employees which has led to the current unfriendliness that Hr receives from employees. Not giving valuable consideration to the star employees has led to considerable organizations losing valuable people. 6. Frustration over the inability to terminate an employee because of insufficient documentation is a frequent source of tension. Is there something HR can do to help ease this tension with this type of situation? Yes. An efficient HR need to document actions of the employee that warrants dismissal. This procedures and action should be made known to the mployees by putting copies in the contract later. This way, workers know the dos and the donts. Procedures on dismissal should also be laid down by the HR. 7. Strategies to save the face of HR.

First of all, am going to evaluate what my predecessors did and how they did it. This is to give me more ideas on what my peers and workers in general despise. Secondly, am going lay down strategies on how to handle this sensitive matters in a better way. Lastly, I will a close relationship with my peers and all employees so that I can know their work need and figure how to solve them to ensure their efficiency. These will make everyone appreciate the existence of HR. 8. How relevant is the HR? I think the relevance of HR in any organization is going down with each day. Saying that the HR is crucial because it is always defending the companys actions concerning employees will be wrong. All this matters like suits on wrong dismissal, arise because of inefficiency in HR inform everyone in the firm about their expectations and what is expected of them. Outsourcing the HR is the best option.